Last week, I was going through messages on Facebook. I saw a post by one of my erstwhile parishioners, the heading attracted me – the caption is “The Greatest Loss.”
In that write-up, the young man (Andrew) narrated his bitter experience on his way after completing his Youth Service in the North. According to him, he bought some gifts for his parents and was so anxious to see them. Only for him to receive a phone call that his mother, whom he was particular very close to, and who had made so much sacrifice so to support his education, just passed on some minutes ago.
You can imagine the pain, shock and mental anguish. This for Andrew is the greatest loss.
You all will agree with me that to lose someone very dear to us is a very painful loss but here is my question – Is that the greatest loss a person can suffer?
It is equally very painful when we lose something that is very significant to us. For instance, when we lose a contract we had very much hoped to win, when we lose money, lose an asset of great worth and significance, when we lose our job, an opportunity to travel abroad, when a player loses a decisive penalty in a final match or when we lose our integrity- although many don’t care much about this but loss of integrity, dignity and respect is a monumental loss.
Beloved in the Lord, as important as some of these things could be, they are still not the greatest loss a man can suffer. I am here this morning to tell you about the greatest loss and what it is?
It is the final loss of your soul. To lose your salvation, to lose an eternity of happiness with God. To lose the ultimate essence of your existence.
The loss of your soul is the greatest agenda of the devil. Each soul lost in time is the devil’s delight when the soul is eternally lost it is the devil’s utmost triumph.
If you pray for a breakthrough, life partner, fruit of the womb, ask for the success of any kind, the devil is not so bothered. He becomes bothered when you start desiring, praying for and working seriously for your salvation.
The devil does everything to distract us from the duty of saving our souls.
Sometimes, he gives us enough to worry about so that we don’t worry about what is enough. What Jesus told Martha in Luke 10:41- 42 is particularly true of many of us “you worry and fret about so many things in life whereas only a few are needed, in fact, only one” – what is that one? Your salvation!
You worry about family, studies, acquiring properties, challenges of raising children, the uncertainty of the future, anxiety about your health, your job, security, and you forget to worry about your soul.
You worry about your children, how they will be comfortable in life – so sad, you are not worried about their soul, their eternity, and their salvation.
Very soon, we shall realize the true value of most of the things we worry about now, things that made us turn our back against God. When our knowledge becomes perfected, we shall then see how worthless and vain they are. That is when we shall understand the wisdom of the biblical sage who says “everything, in the long run, is vanity”.
Another way the devil deceives us is to tell us to relax and have confidence in the mercy of God. “Don’t be too hard on yourself, God will not allow you to perish, somehow he will save you. You can relax a bit.” You have to be on your guard. You cannot afford to relax a bit. Don’t forget that the price of eternal salvation is eternal vigilance.
Sometimes the devil gives us false hope in spirituality without repentance. Once I say this ejaculatory prayer six hundred times a day, once I wear this scapular till I die, once am faithful to Divine Mercy prayer and First Saturday devotion, all is well with my soul.
This is what God corrected in the first reading of today – (Jeremiah 7: 1 – 11), God was warning the people not to deceive themselves saying “we have the temple, we are the people of God, we can’t perish,” while they went on stealing, committing murder, swearing falsely, burning incense to Baal, oppressing the weak and aliens.
Dear brethren, salvation is not a bonanza, it is not automatic, no one strolls casually and comfortably into heaven, it is not a marginal utility, eternity is not what you should gamble with. There is no shortcut.
Two conditions are essential not to miss our salvation:
- Repentance with right action:
Reciting the Rosary twenty decades a day and the wearing of the scapulars of Our Lady of Mt Carmel cannot save you if you do not end your pre-marital sexual relation, your adultery, attraction to pornography, addiction to drugs, smoking, alcoholism and masturbation, no consecration to Sacred Heart or Legion promise can help if you do not repent from defrauding people, from corrupting the innocent unsuspecting and defenceless boys and girls, if you do not repent from stealing, cheating, loose and immoral life, slandering others, and corrupting the innocent, from looking down on people and being rude and wicked.
Jesus says in Luke 13:5 unless you repent, you all will perish.
- Unless you are eternally vigilant and at alert always, you maybe outsmarted by the enemy of your soul. Just a moment of relaxation may deprive you of eternal relaxation. My beloved one in the Lord Jesus said, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” – Matthew 26: 41 Heed also what Jesus Christ advised, “Be ye therefore perfect, seven as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” – Matthew 5:48
Sermon preached by Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Okami of Ilorin Diocese. Kwara State, Nigeria on July 28, 2018.